Lauderdale Officials:trim Riverwalk Cost

FORT LAUDERDALE — The public improvements included in the ambitious downtown Riverwalk proposal would cost the city about $23 million over 15 years, a figure city officials said is too high.

The estimate by Sasaki Associates Inc., planners of the mile-long project along the New River, includes the cost of building parks, roads, an amphitheater and cutting away portions of the riverbank.

With a $4.5 million contingency fund, Sasaki estimated the city would need about $27.6 million to complete the project. The city, in turn, has asked Sasaki to trim that estimate.

``We thought it was a pretty hefty price tag for the benefits we got,`` City Manager Connie Hoffmann said Wednesday. ``We`ve asked them to reconsider some of the river-edge modifications.``

Eliminating those modifications, which include carving a boat basin on the south bank near the Broward County Courthouse, would save several million dollars, Hoffmann said.

Riverwalk, in the works since March, would stretch along the north and south banks of the New River from Southeast Seventh Avenue to Southwest Seventh Avenue, near the proposed site of the performing arts center.

Sasaski, hired for $150,000 to plan Riverwalk, unveiled a three-part project in September that includes retail shops, restaurants, parks, hotels and townhouse condominiums.

The city hopes to attract private developers to build the projects, while taxpayers would finance the public park and road improvements. Sasaki has estimated that private developers would invest $350 million in completing the project.

``That`s a pretty good return,`` Hoffmann said, comparing it to the city`s $20 million-plus investment.

Hoffmann will propose a general obligation bond package in December to pay for part of the city`s share of the cost, though she was uncertain how much of the Riverwalk cost would be included.

The bonds, which would be repaid through property taxes, require voter approval and would appear on a March referendum, if approved first by the City Commission, she said.

Sasaki presented Riverwalk in three stages.

The performing arts center district, from Southwest Seventh to about Southwest Fourth avenues, would cost the city $8.4 million to landscape, redesign roads and build the amphitheater.

The historic district, beginning at Southwest Fourth Avenue and extending to one block east of Andrews Avenue, would require $4.8 million for landscaping and parks.

And the Las Olas Boulevard district, moving east to Southeast Seventh Avenue, would cost $9.7 million. The city would build a huge public riverfront plaza as part of a proposed hotel and retail development, landscape Las Olas Boulevard and complete other projects.